Stepping Stones Preschool

«Mommy, I had fun at school today!» is a phrase I hear daily from our son. He has been at Stepping Stones for almost a year, and we have said from Day 1 how great it is. All of the teachers are warm and caring, and readily tell us how his day went when we pick him up. The school has many activities: daily walks to Golden Gate Park, field trips (Academy of Sciences, DeYoung, and more), music and dance classes. ALL holidays (religious & non) are celebrated throughout the year — allowing for learning the meaning of these days.
The families are fun and welcoming, and always willing to help with an after-​hours movie night or a pot-​luck. There are so many reasons we love this school — but a big one is the male teachers; there are 3! As parents of a boy — we feel it is important for him to see men in education (especially the early years). It is a relatively small school, which again in our view, is a plus. The children all know each other because the classes interact with each other throughout the day.
I cannot say enough good things about this school. I am as excited today as I was the day I got the phone call that he was accepted in to Stepping Stones.

I was honestly shocked to read two recent reviews. Not sure how someone is qualified to review a preschool based on a tour, maybe one of the student accidently ran over her foot with a tricycle.
I am the parent of two Stepping Stone students and could not be happier. The kids sprint into school, and talk about their classmates and teachers constantly. The staff and parents are extremely friendly. The staff is constantly uploading pictures of events, and there are numerous out of school birthdays attended be multiple classmates. My children are progressing from an academic perspective, and I know firsthand, that private kindergarten and elementary programs, are well aware of the strong program. The cost is in line, if not better then alternative preschools, and few have the daily access to Golden Gate Park of Stepping Stone. A note that this is a nonprofit school, so the maximum amount of funds available are directed towards the students wellbeing. This is a very desirable preschool, and the lengthy waiting list is a testament to its desirability. During your visit, the school can give you current parents to contact, and I would encourage perspective families to do so, rather than read the nonsense of a few Unilocalers.

Both my kids currently attend Stepping Stones. My daughter started when she was a little over 2. She transited easily and the staff made me feel so comfortable. I knew how she did everyday and I got personal emails from the director letting me know of her progress. I even got weekly photos and videos of her! That definitely put me at ease. All the teachers are very loving and warm. My kids would come home and will do something shocking that I totally did not teach them! I love the fact that they go to GGP everyday. It’s like an adventure for them and they learn so much about the community and nature. The kids have dance and music class each week, which they adore. They also go on field trips… SS just make learning FUN for them. Neither one of my kids have EVER said «I don’t want to go to school», which I think is AMAZING.
Another great thing about SS is the parent community. All the parents are so fun and friendly. SS offers many events and gatherings for the whole family. It’s a great support network.
SS truly cares about my kids and their education.

I’ve been a parent at Stepping Stones for nearly 4 years, and both of my sons thrived there. The teachers are amazing — loving, warm, funny. They take daily walks through the neighborhood, to the park, or the community garden. I can’t tell you how much this has eased my anxiety about having small kids in the city — they are SO GOOD about stopping and waiting at each corner, in large part because they practiced so much at school. Oh, and the other parents are really fun, too. I would send my kids there again in a heartbeat.

This review is solely based on my tour/​visit of the preschool. My kids do not attend this school.
I’ve been visiting a lot of preschools recently and will slowly roll out my reviews of each. I’m looking at pricing, facility size, location, teacher quality, teacher-​student ratio, among many criteria. I also know that my child is still a child so even if I enroll them into Stanford now, they’re not going to pick up that type of education, hence, there is no need to spend $ 2500/​kid/​month when they are only 2 yrs old.
First thing that stuck me is DAYS OFF in the school year:
— the person giving the tour was not shy to say that they have 35 days off a year (I tallied up and for the current yr it comes out to 29 days… which is still a big deal)
— are you kidding me?! I do have a full time job you know? how else can I afford this?
— this already killed the deal for me
Tuition for 2015 — $ 1400/​month (with a month off that you have to pay for with money and your vacation time)
— based on what i’ve seen, that price is not worth it
— think they are trying to make money off of the fact that they are so close to UCSF
— granted UCSF preschool is $ 2000/​month with a crazy wait list
No lunch is provided. The breakfast I saw them eating was so small… I really hope they had more food coming!
This play is more play based rather than academic based. For that price, it better be more academic based.
Not bilingual
Group tours are given on Friday mornings.

Today was our granddaughter’s last day at Stepping Stones. She’s been a happy pupil there for two years and now she’s off to Kindergarten, thanks in large measure to the preparation she received from the wonderful teachers at Stepping Stones.
Stepping Stones offers a complete «curriculum» to help two-​through-​five year olds develop across all the dimensions imaginable: interpersonal skills, completion of potty training, meal time manners, dancing, singing, reading, arithmetic, basic science — especially curiosity, being a good listener, enjoyment of the out-​of-​doors, not littering, the list goes on and on.
In addition, there is a very active parents’ group and occasional activities in the early evening for the whole family.
As grandparents, we were particularly closely involved with SSPS owing to being responsible for retrieving the granddaughter two days a week. The staff knew us and we knew them; we were introduced to new staff members as they came on board. They are uniformly caring, intelligent, experienced people with that special knack for helping a child through a difficult situation be it a meltdown, a «focus» issue, or a conflict with another child. We will miss them.
SSPS is situated on 7^th Avenue in the Inner Sunset. The traffic on 7^th Avenue is probably the only drawback to this excellent school. Behind locked doors (parents and authorized caregivers are given the code) is a lovely, functional, light and bright facility with various rooms for different activities: academics, nap time, vigorous play, art, music & dancing, movies on Friday. There is even an outdoor patio for gardening and use of a wading pool (on those two or three days a year when the Inner Sunset warms up). Every day that the weather is not absolutely inclement, the children are taken (in adorable groups) for a walk in nearby Golden Gate Park.
This was our second experience (as adults) with a pre-​school, having sent the granddaughter’s Mother to one when she was our little, little girl. I would say that our daughter did at least as good a job finding a pre-​school for her little one as we did.

I have nothing but good things to say about my experience at Stepping Stones. Unlike any other preschool, the owners are a visual part of the school. The school is managed on a daily basis by a director and assistant director, both of whom work full time and are very approachable. As in most schools, you will have your issues but they deal with them appropriately. The staff is lovely and are great with change. In my experience, the school is full of happy, well adjusted children. My favorite part of stepping stones is the fact that my child steps out into the real world everyday, making daily trips to the park. I have noticed a huge difference in my child mentally, socially and physically since he started at the school. Thanks for a great school that is very reasonably priced too!